What this test measures
Most people manage 8 to 11 numbers in this test before running out of strikes. Remembering 13 or more hidden positions at once is well above average. The task comes from a 2007 study in which a young chimpanzee named Ayumu beat university students at remembering briefly shown numbers.
The task combines visual working memory with order: you have to keep the positions of several numbers in mind after they disappear. It was made famous by Inoue and Matsuzawa’s 2007 study at Kyoto University, where chimpanzees remembered flashed numerals remarkably well. Humans who practise and group the positions do much better than on their first try.
How it works
- Press Start. Numbers from 1 upward appear in random cells.
- Touch 1 when you are ready: all other numbers are hidden.
- Touch the hidden cells in order. A correct round adds a number; a mistake is a strike. Three strikes end the test.
Your score is the largest set of numbers you completed in order (higher is better). You can look as long as you like before touching 1.
How to do your best
- Memorise the route, not the numbers: a line through the grid is easier than separate points.
- Split long rounds into two halves and remember each half as a shape.
- Take your time before you touch 1; the clock does not matter here.